People who have had the misfortune to experience one or more wars in their lives, all have their own specific experiences imprinted on their minds when it is all over. In this experimental documentary based on the imbalanced political times before, during and after the civil war in Lebanon, Walid Ra'ad presents the war experiences of the couple Fakhouri. Inspired by diary entries, three short anecdotes are told about the private life of Mrs. Zainab Fakhouri and her former husband, Dr. Fazi Fakhouri, a leading Lebanese historian who has since died. Using photographs from private and public collections, the three stories demonstrate the possibilities and limitations of presenting individual war experiences. Part one sketches the curious relationship that existed during the war between Lebanese historians, gamblers and photographers. They met each other every Sunday on the race-track at the horse races. The gamblers calculated their chances on the horse that would be first over the finishing line. And the historians, once they had convinced the photographers to take just one shot of the winning horse, speculated whether the photo that would appear in the newspaper "Al-Nahar" the next day would have managed to capture the decisive moment. Part two summarizes Mrs. Zainab Fakhouri's past using photos of various objects from her household goods which travelled with her in her many, and often forced, wanderings during the period 1947-1971. Finally, part three covers Dr. Fazi Fakhouri, marked by war. A sad document of the last years of his life, spent withdrawn in a house somewhere in the mountains. The influences of the historical terrors have had great repercussions on him: "The impact of a bullet is never related to its dimensions", he repeats to himself over and over again. Ra'ad must indeed have thought that this cannot perhaps be said often enough.
– Marieke van Hal
|
Light Jean Alain, Sound Pierre Souma, With Steve Atiyeh, Thanks to Zainab Fakhouri, Production Lupi Inc.
|
|
1 9 9 7 
